Continue To Build Colors And Finish The Background

Finishing the drawing is really just a matter of doing more of the same. The colors continue to build up with every layer, until it becomes deep and rich.

Be sure to pay attention to reflected light, which is extremely important when drawing rounded objects. Reflected light is seen anytime there is an edge or rim. You can see it along the edges of the apples, and along the upper edge of the pumpkin. But it is also seen along every ridge of the pumpkin, which makes those areas seem to protrude. Use Orange in these edges to make the reflected light more obvious. Burnish the Orange in the front of the pumpkin to make the color shine. Burnish Canary Yellow into the apples to make them shiny, too.

When the colors of the fruit are nice and deep, finish the drawing by detailing the stems with Dark Brown, Black and White. Again, make sure to include reflected light around the upper edges.

Deepen the background with more Aquamarine, and layer Black directly behind the fruit for more depth of tone.

Add some of the Scarlet Lake to the ground in front. You can see how the shadow area becomes lighter as it moves away from the fruit. Make the shadows more intense under the fruit by layering Black on top.

Now that you've completed a few step-by-step exercises, try some drawings on your own using your acetate grid. To become proficient in colored pencil drawing, it is important to learn the patience required for layering color. These illustrations combine many of the drawing elements we reviewed on the previous pages. The overall shape is still a sphere. Follow the shapes of light and shadow to recreate common objects such as these lemons, pear and apple. Have fun and remember that good drawing takes time!

Once you have mastered the basic techniques of drawing with colored pencil, you can create more complicated drawings. This drawing shows what is possible when you know how to draw a pear.

To Layer or Not to Layer

Sometimes you may not decide until the final stages of a drawing whether it will be layered or burnished. I mostly used the layering approach to draw this bowl of lemons. During the final stages of the drawing, I decided to burnish the background and the bowl's cast shadow with Black to intensify the piece.

Change the Colors of a Common Object

It is amazing to me how brilliant and realisticcolored pencil can be. Here is another way to use the skills you just learned. Simply change the colors, and you can change the entire look! A simple apple can make a very dramatic drawing.

Colors Used

So what happens when round objects no longer look perfectly round? If you look at a cylinder, you know that if you viewed it from the top it would look like a circle. But, when viewed from the side, you see a circle in perspective. This perspective represents distance and changes a circle into an ellipse.

Look at the wagon wheel below. If it was still on the wagon it would look like a perfect circle. But the wheel is lying on its side, so we see it in perspective. Receding lines are made shorter than they are in reality to create the illusion of depth. This is a phenomenon called foreshortening. It is what turns a circle into an ellipse.

Standard Circle

This is a circle viewed straight on.

Vertical Ellipse

When viewed from a different angle, perhaps closer to a side view, the shape appears thinner than the full circle. This is called an ellipse, which by definition is a circle in perspective.

Horizontal Ellipse

This is a circle viewed from above. Instead of a thick appearance, like the vertical ellipse, this ellipse seems flattened out.

Standard Circle

This is a circle viewed straight on.

Vertical Ellipse

When viewed from a different angle, perhaps closer to a side view, the shape appears thinner than the full circle. This is called an ellipse, which by definition is a circle in perspective.

Horizontal Ellipse

This is a circle viewed from above. Instead of a thick appearance, like the vertical ellipse, this ellipse seems flattened out.

Perspective Creates Ellipses

Circles viewed from the side, such as this wagon wheel, are no longer perfect circles. Seen in perspective, the circle appears flattened and stretched out. The degree of perspective of an ellipse depends on the angle in which it is viewed.

LEE'S LESSONS

When drawing elliptical objects, you should be able to fold each ellipse in half in either direction, with all parts matching. This is called the equal quarters rule.

Perspective Creates Ellipses

Circles viewed from the side, such as this wagon wheel, are no longer perfect circles. Seen in perspective, the circle appears flattened and stretched out. The degree of perspective of an ellipse depends on the angle in which it is viewed.

everyday cylinders

Drawing cylinders is all about keen observation and understanding your drawing subject's lighting, perspective and texture. Flower stems, tubes, snakes and trees all have the same cylindrical elements to capture.

The top portion of a cylindrical object, viewed in any perspective, is always in the shape of an ellipse. It is important to draw these accurately because the entire perspective of the object hinges on it.

Study these everyday objects, and see how each one of them is made up of both a cylinder and an ellipse.

Ellipses in Perspective

This spool of thread is drawn from a bird's-eye view, which changes the perspective dramatically. The top of the spool appears much larger than the bottom, even though in reality they are identical in size. Keep in mind that ellipses within a drawing can change depending on your point of view.

Ellipses in Light

These candles are long cylinders. Because of the vantage point and the irregular tops, the ellipses are not as noticeable. Observe how the five elements of shading differ for each candle. The candle on the left is set against a very dark background making the edges appear very light. The candle on the right is set against a light background, making the right side of the candle appear dark. It is important to fully understand the lighting of your subject before you begin to draw.

Look around your home and observe just how many cylindrical household items fill your everyday life, such as bottles, vases, jars, candles and glasses. This antique butter churn is a complex collection of textures, cylinders and ellipses. Notice the many ellipses along the top of the lid of this churn. When drawing, alter your edges a little at a time until your ellipses appear correct.

A tree limb or trunk is also a cylinder, just with a lot of texture. Use this exercise to practice drawing the cylindrical shape of a tree. Even though the surface is irregular and textured, the basic form is still a cylinder with the effects of light and dark creating the roundness.